Kevin Kelsey scored a stoppage time, penalty kick goal to help Portland advance to the Round of 16
TUKWILA, Wash. – Kevin Kelsey converted a 94th minute, stoppage time, penalty kick gamewinner as the Portland Timbers rallied to defeat MLS NEXT Pro side Tacoma Defiance 3-2 in the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 at Starfire Sports Complex.
Up 1-0 at the half via a Zac McGraw header in the 34th minute, Portland fell behind 2-1 early in the second half until Gage Guerra came off the bench to tie the game with a goal in the 81st minute.
Portland advances to the Round of 16 and will play the winner of Thursday's Round of 32 match between the San Jose Earthquakes and Sacramento Republic FC.
Survive and Advance
The Timbers advanced to the U.S. Open Cup Round of 16, which will take place on May 20 or May 21. Portland is slated to play the winner of the San Jose Earthquakes and Sacramento Republic FC match on May 7. In 38 U.S. Open Cup matches since 2004, the Timbers have an overall record of 21-17-0 in the tournament and 11-9-0 when playing on the road. Notably, the Timbers have advanced to the quarterfinal round four times (2013, 2014, 2018, 2019) and to semifinal rounds in 2013 and 2019.
Notes and Numbers
Zac McGraw scored Portland’s first goal of the tournament. The goal marked McGraw’s fifth across all competitions for Portland. Ariel Lassiter tallied his first career goal contribution, an assist, with the Timbers. Gage Guerra scored his first goal for the Timbers, the game-tying score in the match. Ian Smith notched his first professional goal contribution, tallying the game-tying assist. Kevin Kelsy notched his fifth goal of the year for Portland. T2 players Daniel Nuñez, Kyle Linhares and Guerra each made their first-team debut in the match. At 16-years-old, Timbers Academy product Nuñez is the youngest first-team debut across all competitions for the Timbers. Dario Zuparic made his first appearance of 2025.
Goal-Scoring Plays
POR – Zac McGraw (Ariel Lassiter), 34th minute: Ariel Lassiter delivered a corner kick to the far side of the goal, setting up Zac McGraw to head the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal.
TAC – Osaze De Rosario (Georgi Minoungou), 48th minute: Georgi Minoungou received the ball on the right side and dribbled to the endline before sending a cross into the middle, where Osaze De Rosario chipped it in with his right foot.
TAC – Yu Tsukanome (Georgi Minoungou), 51st minute: Yu Tsukanome took a quick touch and passed the ball to a driving Georgi Minoungou on the right side of the 18-yard box. Minoungou took on his defender before sending it back to Tsukanome, who scored the go-ahead goal from just a meter outside the six-yard box with his right foot.
POR – Gage Guerra (Ian Smith), 81st minute: Ian Smith dribbled down the left side of the pitch and delivered a cross towards Gage Guerra from just outside the left corner of the 18-yard box. Guerra separated himself between two defenders right in front of the six-yard box and scored on his first professional touch, sending the ball into the right side of the goal before the keeper had a chance to react.
POR – Kevin Kelsy (penalty kick), 90+4: Kelsy clinched the victory for the Timbers with a decisive left footed penalty kick, sending the ball to the left side of the goal as the Defiance keeper dove in the opposite direction.
Notes:
- Tonight’s match marked Portland’s 38th match in the U.S. Open Cup, dating back to 2004.
- The Timbers have a record of 21-17-0 in the competition and 14-10-0 in the club’s MLS era.
- Portland is 11-9-0 when playing U.S. Open Cup matches on the road.
- Zac McGraw scored Portland’s first goal of the tournament.
- The goal marked McGraw’s fifth across all competitions for Portland.
- Gage Guerra scored his first goal for the Timbers, the game-tying score in the match.
- Kevin Kelsy notched his fifth goal of the year for Portland.
- Ariel Lassiter tallied his first career goal contribution, an assist, with the Timbers.
- Ian Smith notched his first professional goal contribution, tallying the game-tying assist.
- Dario Zuparic made his first appearance of 2025.
- T2 players Daniel Nuñez, Kyle Linhares and Guerra each made their first-team debut in the match.
- At 16-years-old, Nuñez is the youngest first-team debut across all competitions for the Timbers.
Next Game
The Timbers will return to Providence Park, hosting Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, May 10. Kickoff is set for 7:30pm PT (TICKETS) on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app in English and Spanish with local radio broadcasts on 750 The Game (English) and La GranD 1150AM/93.5 FM (Spanish).
Portland Timbers vs. Tacoma Defiance (Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup – Round of 32)
May 6, 2025 – Starfire Sports Complex (Tukwila, Wash.)
Scoring Summary:
POR: McGraw (Lassiter), 34
TAC: De Rosario (Minoungou), 48
TAC: Tsukanome (Minoungou), 51
POR: Guerra (Smith), 81
POR: Kelsy (penalty kick), 90+3
Misconduct Summary:
TAC: Brunell, 63
TAC: Kingston, 73
Lineups:
POR: GK Crepéau, D E. Miller, D Zuparic, D McGraw (Jura, 73), D Bravo (Núñez, 46), M Ortiz (Linhares, 60), M Paredes, M Smith, F Lassiter, F Fernandez (Guerra, 79), F Kelsy
Substitutes Not Used: GK Muse, Pope, Enriquez
TOTAL SHOTS: 13; SHOTS ON GOAL: 6; FOULS: 10; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 4
TAC: GK Thomas, D Baker-Whiting, D Hawkins, D Yamada, M Kossa-Rienzi, M Lopez (Tsukanome, 46), M Brunell, M Gomez (Sousa, 75), F Kingston, F Minoungou, F De Rosario
Substitutes Not Used: Katsaros, Helleren, Robles, Khoury, Carli
TOTAL SHOTS: 10; SHOTS ON GOAL: 6; FOULS: 16; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 3
Referee: Adorae Monroy
Assistant Referees: Ryan Jung, Miles Crumley
Fourth Official: Dion Coxe-Trieger
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
